Draw unkind for 'Charge'

2013 Travers winner gets No. 1 post for Whitney

Updated 7:03 am, Thursday, July 31, 2014

Trainers Wayne Lukas, left and Eric Guillot share a humorous moment at the post position draw for Saturday's Whitney Stakes Wednesday morning at the Saratoga Race Course July 30, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Trainers Wayne Lukas, left and Eric Guillot share a humorous moment at the post position draw for Saturday's Whitney Stakes Wednesday morning at the Saratoga Race Course July 30, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. ... more

The Whitney winner's trophy sits near the board that shows the post positions and the entrants names for Saturday's Whitney Stakes Wednesday morning July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

The Whitney winner's trophy sits near the board that shows the post positions and the entrants names for Saturday's Whitney Stakes Wednesday morning July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga ... more

Members of the Albany Dancesport Club dances an exhibition of the tarantella during Italian Day Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The dance demonstration was part of the Heritage series held at the Saratoga Race Course every Wednesday. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Members of the Albany Dancesport Club dances an exhibition of the tarantella during Italian Day Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The dance demonstration was part of the Heritage ... more

Members of the Albany Dancesport Club dances an exhibition of the tarantella during Italian Day Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The dance demonstration was part of the Heritage series held at the Saratoga Race Course every Wednesday. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Members of the Albany Dancesport Club dances an exhibition of the tarantella during Italian Day Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The dance demonstration was part of the Heritage ... more

Trainer Eric Guillot wears his feeling on his t-shirt during the post position draw for the Saturday's Whitney Stakes Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Trainer Eric Guillot wears his feeling on his t-shirt during the post position draw for the Saturday's Whitney Stakes Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. ... more

#2 Virsito ridden by Paddy Young, far right, jumps the final fence and runs on to win the first race on the card Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

#2 Virsito ridden by Paddy Young, far right, jumps the final fence and runs on to win the first race on the card Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip ... more

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. turns around on his mount Stars Above Me to look at the competition as he coasted to the win in 3rd running of The Coronation Cup Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. turns around on his mount Stars Above Me to look at the competition as he coasted to the win in 3rd running of The Coronation Cup Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race ... more

Whitney entrant Will Take Charge gives his attendants Richard Head, left and Mario Ruiz, right momentary concern as he rears up while grazing Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Whitney entrant Will Take Charge gives his attendants Richard Head, left and Mario Ruiz, right momentary concern as he rears up while grazing Wednesday afternoon July 30, 2014 at the Saratoga Race Course in

It's Whitney Week in the Spa City, and the start of it gave Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas a big, fat pain in the gut.

Lukas trains Will Take Charge, last year's Travers winner who figures to have a say in the Whitney, which has a brand new, shiny $1.5 million price tag on it. Lukas' toothy grin disappeared when the draw was held in the Saratoga paddock Wednesday morning.

That's because Will Take Charge drew the No. 1 post in the 11/8-mile race, which could be the race of the year in the older horse division. Drawing the one hole in any race just invites a horse to get into trouble because there are so many horses outside of him.

"I hate to have an upset stomach this early in the morning," Lukas said when he found out where Will Take Charge would begin his Whitney journey. "Not good."

But, after he had a while to digest it, Lukas, like he always does, started to ooze confidence. He knows he will have to find a way to beat Palace Malice, who is unbeaten in four starts this year and was made the even-money morning-line favorite in the nine-horse field.

More Information

Whitney draw

Here is the complete field, in post position order, with jockey, trainer and odds:

HORSE

JOCKEY

TRAINER

ODDS

1. Will Take Charge

Luis Saez

D. Wayne Lukas

4-1

2. Prayer for Relief

Joel Rosario

Dale Romans

20-1

3. Moreno

Junior Alvarado

Eric Guillot

10-1

4. Itsmyluckyday

Paco Lopez

Eddie Plesa Jr.

12-1

5. Palace Malice

John Velazquez

Todd Pletcher

EVEN

6. Departing

Robby Albarado

Al Stall

6-1

7. Romansh

Jose Ortiz

Tom Albertrani

10-1

8. Golden Ticket

Julien Leparoux

Ken McPeek

20-1

9. Last Gunfighter

Javier Castellano

Chad Brown

15-1

Lukas has a pretty good horse in Will Take Charge, who won the Eclipse Award as the best 3-year-old in the country last year despite not winning a Triple Crown race. The colt ran in all three and didn't hit the board in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness or Belmont.

A strong summer/fall campaign clinched it for him. He won the Travers, Pennsylvania Derby and was beat by a nose in the Breeders' Cup Classic by Mucho Macho Man. Last year, while sitting in his office on the Oklahoma Training Track, Lukas predicted Will Take Charge would be better as a 4-year-old.

Earlier this week, he was not backing off that boast.

"This is a very durable, hard-knocking horse," Lukas said. "And that is what a championship horse does. Lady's Secret was like that. Serena (Serena's Song). Thunder Gulch. The horses who make every dance. When you get one like that, they are very special. When you get to the paddock and see this one, he will rock you back."

Will Take Charge has already run five times this year. He has one win — the Oaklawn Park Handicap — and three seconds, the most recent being the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. He lost by 13/4 lengths to a horse named Moonshine Mullin, who is not running Saturday.

Will Take Charge, who Lukas said has put on 100 pounds since last year, will likely make people stand and yell during the stretch run of the Whitney. He did that last year when he gobbled up ground late in the Travers and beat the long shot Moreno by a nose.

Then Lukas had to withstand charges by Eric Guillot, the colorful trainer of Moreno, who accused Luis Saez, Will Take Charge's jockey, of carrying an illegal buzzer that he used on the horse to make him run faster. The New York State Gaming Commission took 35 days before announcing there had been no wrongdoing in the Travers.

The Whitney will be the third time since the Travers that Moreno and Will Take Charge have been in the same race; the first since last fall's Breeders' Cup Classic.

Lukas was not about to relive last year's post-Travers dust-up.

"It hasn't even crossed my mind," he said.

Guillot, proudly wearing a T-shirt that read "I've Got Haters Everywhere" did apologize to Lukas at last year's Breeders' Cup. That doesn't mean he still doesn't think he was right.